"Oh thank heaven" for 7-Eleven

7-Eleven donates $300,000 to Dallas Police Department

By Katie Tuttle
Content Manager

In a continued effort to support local law enforcement, convenience store 7-Eleven announced yesterday that it is donating $300,000 to the Dallas Police Department.

The money will be used to purchase security cameras, three-wheeled community patrol vehicles (T3s), bait cars, mobile license plate readers, and other technology for the Safer Dallas Better Dallas initiative.

According to the organization's website, the mission of Safer Dallas Better Dallas is "to protect our citizens from becoming victims of crime and to engage them in a partnership with Dallas Police, to support the efforts of our Dallas police officers, and to make Dallas America’s safest big city."

7-Eleven's donation will be used for two specific TAAG (Targeted Area Action Grids) areas of Dallas: the Ross-Bennett area and the Five Points neighborhood.

"The two TAAG areas that we’re sponsoring are both very close to our offices," said Mark Stinde, 7-Eleven vice president of asset protection. "Ross-Bennett is basically in our back yard and the Five Points TAAG area is a short distance from us. If we’re going to support, we have to support what’s close to where we do business."

Along with announcing their gift to the DPD, 7-Eleven's President and CEO Joe DePinto also announced on Wednesday a plan for the Corporation to invest $40 million nationwide in new security and surveillance systems for all 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. These systems are designed to further enhance customer, employee, and store safety.

"In short, this new system will allow 7-Eleven and its franchisees to remotely view their store and quickly recall footage from multiple angles," DePinto said. "More importantly, local law enforcement agencies can view footage remotely without having to go to a store to secure a videotape should wrongdoing occur."


Wednesday’s gift isn’t the first time 7-Eleven has shown support for the Dallas Police Department this year. In March 7-Eleven donated four T3s to increase the DPD’s fleet to eight. Yesterday’s gift from 7-Eleven is the first step towards a $3 million goal to help fight crime in all of Dallas’ 27 TAAG areas. According to the DPD, these 27 areas represent six percent of Dallas and 36 percent of its total crime.

"As we grow the city, we need private partnership in strategic areas that are important," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said back in March. "Downtown's growth is important."

This time around, the mayor sent out a challenge to other retailers in the area.

"I'm calling on all corporations to step up and say, 'How can we do our part?'" said Rawlings. "Anybody who's a retailer out there, pitch in, come on board."

Stinde agreed with Rawlings' statement, adding that he plans to reach out to some of the key retailers in the area to ask for their help directly.

"Just like we are often the extension of law enforcement in communities as we work together, the same goes for law enforcement being an extension of how we prevent loss in our stores," Stinde said. "As you think about ways that you can urge your organization to become involved, this effort not only helps to make our community safe but it also creates an environment that’s going to help us accomplish our goals and improve loss numbers in our stores."

If you want to help support this fantastic effort contact Mark Stinde, VP of AP, 7-Eleven.